KR20090123828A - Improvements in or relating to tube coupling - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A tube combining tool or an improvement thereof are provided to combine/release tubes with a collet by keeping a collet at the tube fixing position or moving a collect to be perpendicular to a through passage by rotating a collet locking unit. CONSTITUTION: A tube combining tool comprises a joint body(10) having a through passage(11) of the open end housing a tube(16). A collet(20) is positioned at the open end of the through passage. The collet has a loop(21) and plural flexible arms(22). The plural flexible arms are extended into the through passage from the shaft direction of the loop. The through passage has a cam surface(25) collected toward the open end. The collet arms have heads(23) at the end. The collet arms move to the outside of the collet about the through passage. The collet arms are compressed about the tube by the cam surface to fix the tube within the through passage. A collet locking unit(27) is installed on the joint body. The collet locking unit has one rotary position keeping the collect at the tube fixing position. The collet locking unit has other rotary positions capable of moving the collect to the shaft direction about the through passage.

Description

Tube joints or improvements related to them {Improvements in or relating to tube coupling}

The present invention relates to a tube fitting for providing a tube connection to a tube or lines of pipes that guide the fluid in the form of gas or liquids.

Applicant's British Patent No. 1520742 discloses a tube fitting having a fuselage with a passageway of an open end for receiving the tube. The collet is located in the open end of the through passage, which has a ring and a plurality of arms extending from the ring into the through passage as a whole.

The through passages have collet arms with heads at their distal ends to engage both the cam surface and the tube extending into the through passage through the collet and the tapered cam surface converging towards the open end of the through passage. The head of the collet arms is pressed against the tube by the cam surface with the movement of the collet toward the open end of the passage to secure the tube in the passage. The collet ring has a flange or head that extends out of the passageway and is inverted outwards to facilitate manipulation of the collet with a tool or manually to lock the tube into or out of the engagement fuselage. A “C” shaped locking clip may be provided for engagement between the flange or head of the collet and the proximal end of the coupling fuselage to hold the collet in an outwardly extended position, in which the tube is introduced into the coupling fuselage by the collet. Locked to prevent accidental release of the collet. Providing a separate component for the locking function may result in the collet being left unlocked if the clip is not available for the engagement fuselage or if the installer simply overlooks applying the clip to the collet.

The present invention aims to provide an improved tube coupler.

The present invention provides a tube coupler, wherein the tube coupler has a fuselage fuselage with a passageway of an open end for receiving the tube, located in the open end of the passageway and extending into the passageway in the axial direction of the loop and the loop as a whole. A tube coupler comprising a collet having a plurality of flexible arms and a collet lock rotatably mounted on the engaging body, the through passage having a tapered cam surface that converges toward the open end, the collet arms having a cam surface And heads at the distal ends to engage both sides of the tube, extending into the through passage through the collet and compressing the tube by the cam surface against the tube by the outward movement of the collet relative to the through passage, thereby securing the tube in the through passage. The part is rotatably mounted on the engaging fuselage, and the collet locking portion moves the collet For the engagement and release of the tube by a rotational position and, collet for holding in a fixed position having a different rotation position in the collet can move axially with respect to the through.

In a preferred arrangement according to the invention, the collet lock has means for keeping the collet in the outer tube fixing position and for bringing the collet out of the passageway with the rotation of the collet.

More specifically, the collet lock and the engaging body may have interlocking guiding means for bringing the collet out of the engaging body by displacing the collet locking part axially outwardly by rotation of the collet locking.

For example, the interengaging means acting between the collet lock and the engaging body may comprise cam means acting between the collet locking and the engaging body.

In the apparatus, the cam means may each comprise a cam and a cam follower in each of the collet lock and the engaging body, or vice versa.

In any case of the device, the collet lock may comprise a sleeve surrounding the engagement fuselage.

In this case, the sleeve can be coupled to a ring of collet, which pulls the collet out of the coupling body with the axial movement of the sleeve out of the coupling body.

In one preferred device the collet ring protrudes from the open end of the coupling body, one end of the sleeve protrudes beyond that end of the coupling body and has an inverted flange, the inner inverted flange engaging the ring to engage the cap. An axial outward movement causes the collet to come out axially out of the passage.

More specifically, it may have an outside inverted head, and the flange of the sleeve may engage behind the head.

In any of the above devices, the cam surface may be formed around the engagement body and the cam or cams may be formed in a sleeve that engages the cam surface.

In one example according to the invention the cam surface may be formed outside the coupling body in the sleeve, and the cam or cams may be formed in the sleeve.

In another arrangement, the cam surface may be formed on a through passage in the engagement body, and the cam or cams may be formed on an inverted flange at one end of the sleeve and engage with the cam surface to project into the through passage.

In any of the above devices, the cam surface on the engaging body can be shaped such that there is a 90 ° rotation of the cap between the collet locking position and the collet release position.

According to another feature, the cam surface is shaped to resist sleeve rotation in both directions from the collet locking position.

For example, the cam surface may be provided with a shallow recess to receive the cam in the collet locking position providing resistance to sleeve rotation in both directions from the collet locking position.

In any of the above devices, the engagement fuselage may have one or more apertures that allow observation of the position of the tube inserted into the through passage.

In this case the sleeve is shaped to cover the aperture or the apertures in the collet locking position and to expose the apertures or the apertures in the collet release position.

The tube coupler of the present invention can prevent the tube from being accidentally released from the coupling fuselage. The operator can also observe and check the locking of the tube by the heads of the collet.

The following is a description of some specific embodiments of the present invention and will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring first to the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 8 of the drawings, there is shown a tube-coupled body 10 molded from high-strength plastic material with a central passage 11, with the central passage 11 having an inner cylindrical plug. Ends at (12).

The annular recess 13 extends from the end face 14 of the coupling fuselage to the wall of the coupling fuselage and ends at the step 15 to form a socket for receiving the end of the tube 15 around the stopper 12. do.

The outer surface of the stopper proximal to the end 15 of the socket is corrugated to grip the inner surface of the tube 16 as in reference numeral 17, and the outer surface of the stopper also has two spaced annular grooves. (18) are formed so that an O-ring seal is placed in the groove to form a seal with the inner surface of the tube 16 positioned over the stopper.

The tube is formed on molded plastic and held above the stopper in the socket by a collet designated by reference numeral 20. The collet has a ring 21, which is located at the inlet of the socket and has a plurality of axially extending flexible arms 22, which end at the head 23. The metal teeth 24 are molded into the head and protrude on the inner side of the heads to engage the tube 16 to grip the tube.

The wall of the engaging body around the socket is formed with a tapered cam surface 25 converging towards the open end of the socket, the heads 23 being able to engage the cam surface such that the collet moves slightly away from the engaging body. With the head against the outer surface of the tube.

The collet 21 of the collet protrudes outside the open end of the socket and has a flange or head 26 which is integrated and outwardly inverted, which flange or head rests on the end of the engaging body.

A collet lock comprising a sleeve 27 is located on the coupling fuselage close to the open end of the coupling fuselage for rotation about the coupling fuselage and for axial sliding movement at the coupling fuselage end. . The sleeve has an in-turned flange 28 which engages between the end of the coupling body and the head 26 of the collet.

Spaced ports 29 are formed in the outer wall of the engaging body surrounding the socket, allowing the operator to observe and check the locking of the tube by the heads of the collet.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 to 8 of the drawings, an outer cam surface is formed on the outer wall of the engagement fuselage proximate to the end 14, the cam surface being indicated by reference numeral 30 and facing the open end of the through passage. . The cam surface has two deep slots 31 extending beyond the window 29 from the open end of the fuselage along the engagement fuselage, and between the slots the cam surface has a shallow rise extending from the sides of the slot. With a rising ramp 32, the sides of the slot end at short ridges 33 and have a shallow recess 34 between the ridges.

The sleeve 27 has a pair of integral cam followers 35 that are generally rectangular (only one cam follower is shown in FIG. 8), and the cam followers are inverted flanges at the sleeve ends. And integrally molded with the inner side of the sleeve. The cam followers 35 have a circumferential length corresponding to the width of the slots 31 formed in the cam face of the engaging body. The cam followers engage the cam face, and the rotation of the sleeve adjusts the axial position of the sleeve relative to the engaging body. When the cam followers 35 engage in the slots 31, the flange 29 on the sleeve is positioned with respect to the end of the coupling body, and the head 26 of the collet fits with the flange 28 of the sleeve. The collet can be pushed into the socket of the coupling body until bitten. In such a position of the collet, the heads of the arms of the collet are only disengaged from the tapered cam surface of the engaging body, allowing the tube to be inserted into or exited from the engaging body. When the sleeve 27 is rotated through 90 ° to disengage the cam followers 35 from the slots 31, the cam followers rise above the inclined portions 32 so that the inner reversed end of the sleeve Lift 28 off the end of the engagement fuselage and force the head 26 of the collet away from the end of the engagement fuselage. The cam followers 35 eventually rise above the ridges 33 at the top of the slopes and then fall into the recesses 34, which hold the cam followers against rotation about the engagement body. In this position the heads 23 of the collet are forcibly held against the tapered cam surface 25 of the coupling body, thereby locking the heads against the tube 16, thereby locking the tube into the coupling body. Let. To release the tube from the engagement fuselage, the sleeve 27 is rotated to bring the cam followers 35 out of the recesses 34 and then retracted to coincide with the slots 31, where the sleeve The sleeve may again slide axially across the engagement body until the flange of the engagement body engages the end of the engagement body, thereby allowing the collet 20 to move inwards to release the heads of the collet from gripping engagement with the tube. .

In another device, not shown, a cam is formed in the cap, and cam followers are formed on the engagement fuselage to displace the cap axially with the rotation of the cap as outlined above.

At the end 40 of the sleeve, away from the upper wall 28, alternate peaks and troughs are formed around the sleeve, such as in the form of a sinusoidal shape, whereby valleys of that shape are formed. In the window 29 of the coupling fuselage wall appear the locking of the tube in the coupling fuselage can be observed. The windows 29 are exposed when the sleeve is in the collet release position, such that the tube 16 rests on the stopper 12 in the engagement body before the sleeve is rotated to allow the product to grip the tube and lock it in place. The operator can observe whether it is fully inserted. In this position of the sleeve where the cam followers 35 engage the recesses 34 of the cam face, the tops of the sleeve cover the slots in the engagement body. It will be appreciated that other shapes may be applied at the ends of the sleeve to achieve the same effect. For example, the end of the sleeve may have spaced indentations or recesses that expose the windows in the engagement fuselage.

9-13 show a dual end coupling fuselage of the type shown in FIGS. 1-8, wherein the tube is inserted into the coupling fuselage, the sleeve is rotated to lock the tube in the coupling fuselage, and the sleeve Is rotated to release the tube and the collet is pressed inward to allow the tube to withdraw from the coupling fuselage.

14 to 22 show a similar device with the improved cam feature 31 and cam followers 35 best shown in FIGS. 16 to 18. The range of axial displacement of the sleeve is reduced in this device because the cam has only shallow recesses 31, which extend along the engagement fuselage instead of the deep slot 31 in the previously described arrangement. do. The features of such an apparatus are similar in other respects to the previously described embodiments.

9 to 27 still show another device, wherein a cam surface 31 for actuating the sleeve is formed inwardly at the inlet of the cam follower 35 and the engaging body.

33-41 and 42-50 show other forms for the cam around the inlet of the engaging body and the flange of the inner reversal at the end of the sleeve. The operation of the sleeve to lock and unlock the collet is much like that described in connection with the first embodiment.

In other devices that can be applied to any of the devices, the rotation of the sleeve relative to the engaging body is limited to 180 °, for example by means of the end stop and the element on the sleeve formed in the cam.

51 and 52 show another application of the present invention. FIG. 51 shows a combined fuselage 10 of the improved device with the collet and collet locks removed.

The engagement fuselage end 14 has a peripheral blunt portion, generally indicated by reference numeral 50, which is an axially facing step 51 near the end of the engagement fuselage and a short collar at the end of the engagement fuselage. , 52). The collar 52 has four protrusions 53 which are spaced at one interval, integral and protrude outwards, the outer sides of which are raised slightly at the outer side of the engaging body 10.

Each protrusion 53 has an adjacent cam 54, which is wound around the collar 52. Each cam has an inclined portion 55 which rises from the step 51 to a flat portion 56 extending parallel to the end of the engaging body, which leads to the projection 53 associated with the cam. Short splines 57 are formed below the outside of the collar 52 on the flats 56 proximate one side of the protrusion 53, and similar splines 58 are collars proximate the other side of the protrusion 53. It is formed on the outside of the.

Referring now to FIG. 52, the sleeve 27 has four equally spaced cam followers 35 molded in the sleeve proximate the end flange 28 of the sleeve. Each cam species eastern 35 has a spline 59 formed on the inner side of the cam follower at both ends for the purpose to be described later. The tapered slots 60 extend axially along one side of each of the cam followers 35 along the inside of the sleeve.

When the sleeve 27 is assembled to the coupling fuselage, the slots 60 are aligned with the protrusion 53 to facilitate the positioning of the sleeve into the coupling fuselage. The cam followers 35 engage the peripheral blunt portion 50 around the end of the engagement body such that each follower can move between the protrusion 53 and the cam 54. When the sleeve 27 is rotated so that the cam followers 35 are raised to the inclined portion 55, the sleeve is displaced axially outward of the coupling fuselage as previously described to inlet the coupling fuselage at the tube locking position. Keep the collet in position. When the cam followers 35 move onto the flats 56 of the cams, the sleeve reaches the maximum position of movement axially outward from the engagement body. By forcing the tip spline 59 of the cam follower 35 to pass through the spline 57 on the proximal side of the protrusion 53, the sleeves 35 can be locked in the maximum movement position, so that the return of the sleeve Resist movement

When the sleeve is rotated in the opposite direction, the cam followers 35 proceed to the step 51 above the flat 56 and below the slope 55 of the cam 54. The sleeve is then allowed to move axially over the coupling fuselage to release the collet from engaging the tube and allow the tube to be withdrawn from the coupling fuselage. The sleeve may be held in position by engaging the spline 59 at the tip of the cam follower in a return motion past the spline 58 at the side of the protrusion 53 proximate to the bottom of the inclined portion 55. The cam followers 35 are thus constrained to move between adjacent pairs of projections 35 to have an overall angle of rotation of slightly less than 90 °.

1 is a cross-sectional view through a tube coupler, the tube coupler being a coupling fuselage, a collet in the coupling fuselage for locking the tube in place, a tube inserted into the coupling fuselage, and preventing the tube from being accidentally released from the coupling fuselage; With a locking device of the collet, the locking device having a window of the coupling body, which is shown in the non-zero position and observes the locking mechanism revealed by the collet locking device.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the locking device in the collet locking position and the window into the engaging body covered by the collet locking device. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view of the tube fitting in the state shown in FIG. 2 with a cross section taken at 90 ° with respect to the portion of FIG. 2. FIG.

4 is a perspective view of the tube coupler shown in FIG. 1, with the tube omitted.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tube coupler shown in FIG. 2, with the tube omitted. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the tube fitting shown in FIG. 5, with the collet locking device omitted. FIG.

7 is a side view of the fuselage shown in FIG.

8 is a perspective view of a collet locking sleeve.

9-13 are perspective views of a two-end version of the coupling fuselage of FIGS. 1-5, wherein the tube is inserted into one end of the coupling fuselage, the tube is locked against removal within the coupling fuselage, and the tube can be pulled out. A sequence of operations is shown to release the lock so that it is unlocked.

Figures 14-18 are views similar to Figures 5-8, showing the cam follower in an improved cam and collet locking sleeve that encloses the outer side of the engaging body.

19 to 32 correspond to FIGS. 1 to 13 and show a third improved device.

33 to 41 show a fourth improved device, and FIGS. 42 to 50 show a fifth improved device.

51 and 52 show a sixth improved device.

Claims (20)

Coupling fuselage having a through passageway receiving the tube and having an open end, Collet having a plurality of flexible arms located in the open end of the through passage and extending into the through passage in the axial direction of the ring as a whole; A tube fitting comprising a collet lock rotatably mounted on the through passage, the through passage having a tapered cam surface that converges towards the open end, the collet arms head at the distal ends to engage both the cam surface and the tube And the tube extends into the through passage through the collet and compresses against the tube by the cam surface with the outward movement of the collet relative to the through passage, thereby securing the tube in the through passage, the collet locking portion having the collet locking portion One rotational position to hold in the outer tube fixing position, and engagement and release of the tube by the collet The collet has a different rotational position, which can be moved in the axial direction with respect to a through-tube to the zipper. The method of claim 1, And the collet locking portion has means for holding the collet in the outer tube fixing position and forcing the collet out through the rotation by rotation of the collet locking portion. The method of claim 2, And the collet locking portion and the engaging body have interlocking guide means for displacing the collet locking portion outwardly of the engaging body by rotation of the collet locking to bring the collet out of the engaging body. The method of claim 3, wherein The interlocking means acting between the collet lock and the engaging body comprises a cam means acting between the collet locking and the engaging body. The method of claim 4, wherein The cam means comprise a cam and cam follower in each of the collet lock and engaging body, or vice versa a cam and cam follower in each of the engaging body and collet locking. The method of claim 1, wherein A collet lock, wherein the collet lock comprises a sleeve surrounding the joining fuselage. The method of claim 6, A tube coupler, wherein the sleeve is coupled to the rings of the collet, thereby pulling the collet out of the engaging body with the axial movement of the sleeve out of the engaging body. The method of claim 7, wherein The ring of collet protrudes from the open end of the coupling fuselage, and one end of the sleeve has an inner-inverted flange that protrudes beyond that end of the coupling fuselage and also engages the ring, thereby axially outwardly of the cap. A tube coupler, wherein movement causes the collet to exit axially out of the passage. The method of claim 8, The collet ring has an outer reversing head, and the flange of the sleeve engages behind the head, the tube fitting. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, Wherein the cam surface is formed around the coupling body and the cam or cams are formed in a cap that engages the cam surface. The method of claim 10, The cam surface is formed on the outer side of the coupling body in the cap and the cam or cams are formed in the wall of the sleeve surrounding the coupling body. The method of claim 10, And the cam surface is formed on a through passage in the joining fuselage and the cam or cams are formed in a wall of inner reversal projecting into the through passage at one end of the sleeve. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, The cam surface on the engagement body has a shape such that there is a 90 ° rotation of the sleeve between the collet locking position and the collet release position. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, And the cam surface is shaped to resist sleeve rotation in both directions from the collet locking position. The method of claim 14, The cam face is provided with a shallow recess to receive the cam in the collet locking position to provide resistance to sleeve rotation in both directions from the collet locking position. The method of claim 1, wherein The coupling fuselage has one or more apertures that enable observation of the position of the tube inserted into the through passage. The method of claim 16, The sleeve is shaped to cover the aperture or the apertures in the collet locking position and to expose the apertures or the apertures in the collet release position. The method of claim 1, wherein A tube coupler, wherein the rotation of the collet lock relative to the engaging body is limited. The method of claim 18, The rotation of the collet lock is limited to no more than 180 ° or no more than 90 ° relative to the engagement fuselage. The method of claim 18 or 19, And means for limiting rotation of the collet lock relative to the engaging body comprises interlocking elements on the collet locking and the engaging body.

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